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LEAGUE  FOR  THE  PRESERVATION  OF 
AMERICAN  INDEPENDENCE 


Would  President  Wilson's  Covenant 

of  the  League  of  Nations 

Prevent  War? 


Opinions  of  our  Political  Prophets  and  the  Reliability  of  their 
Forecasts  Made  During  the  War 


By 

William  Herbert  Hobbs 

Of  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  National  Security  League 
Author  of  "The  World  War  and  Its  Consequences,"  Etc. 


ANN  ARBOR,  MICHIGAN 
JANUARY  9,  1920 


h^7 


Would  President  Wilson's  Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations 
Prevent  War? 

Opinions  of  our  Political  Prophets  and  the  Reliability  of  their 
Forecasts  Made  During  the  War 


President  Wilson  stands  sponsor  before  the  entire  world  for  the 
Covenant  of  the  League  of  Nations.  Save  for  an  insignificant  minority 
largely  made  up  of  pacifists  and  radical  socialists  this  Covenant  is  not 
desired  by  the  nations  of  Europe,  although  we  have  been  assured  that 
without  it  the  heart  of  the  world  will  be  broken.  It  is  now  known, 
furthermore,  that  the  Covenant  is  not  desired  by  the  American  people 
as  a  people,  although  the  world  has  been  assured  that  Mr.  Wilson  has 
held  their  mandate  for  its  ratification  without  the  crossing  of  a  "t"  or 
the  dotting  of  an  "i."  As  the  result  of  intrigue  and  of  an  atrocious 
official  propaganda  to  conceal  the  facts,  the  Senate  of  the  United  States 
has  been  practically  estopped  from  rejecting  the  Covenant  in  its  en- 
tirety and  has  been  forced  to  content  itself  with  reservations  which 
will  rob  it  of  its  more  vicious  provisions. 

If  the  Covenant  could  be  expected  to  prevent  future  wars,  as  has 
been  claimed  by  its  advocates,  all  American  citizens  worthy  of  the 
name  would  be  its  supporters,  almost  without  regard  to  its  other  con- 
ditions. Its  official  godfather,  standing  in  the  august  presence  of  the 
assembled  delegates  of  the  Peace  Conference  at  the  solemn  moment  of 
promulgating  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  Germany,  when  the  whole 
world  stood  at  attention,  declared  in  words  which  permitted  of  no 
shadow  of  uncertainty  that  this  covenant  is  "definite  as  a  guarantee 
of  peace."  In  a  barnstorming  campaign  which  for  magnitude  has  no 
parallel  in  all  history,  an  army  of  30,000  speakers  organized  by  the 
League  to  Enforce  Peace  have  demanded  ratification  of  the  Covenant 
in  order  to  prevent  future  wars.  Should  the  American  people  accept 
the  judgment  of  this  army  as  sound,  or  should  we  reject  the  covenant 
as  voicing  the  opinion  of  visionaries? 

The  League's  supporters  include  the  President  and  his  entire 
cabinet,  a  Republican  ex-president  of  the  United  States,  the  president 
of  Harvard  University,  various  ambassadors  and  ministers  of  the 
Wilson  regime,  and  professors  and  preachers  almost  without  number. 
A  no  less  notable  body  of  eminent  men,  on  the  contrary,  holds  the 
belief  that  the  Covenant  is  vicious,  that  it  will  lead,  not  to  peace,  but 
to  Interminable  wars,  and  that  It  will  moreover  tend  to  replace  demo- 


266 


—  4  — 

cratic  by  despotic  forms  of  government.     The  issue  is  clearly  joined. 
By  whose  judgment  are  we  to  be  guided? 

From  the  beginning  this  problem  has  been  concerned  primarily 
with  the  reliability  of  judgment  of  our  political  prophets.  In  the  busi- 
ness world  an  expert  whose  judgment  upon  a  matter  of  the  first  im- 
portance has  been  found  to  be  seriously  at  fault,  ceases  to  be  a 
reliance  in  future  transactions.  How  much  more  important  is  it  that 
in  affairs  effecting  the  very  life  of  the  nation  we  should  rely  upon 
men  of  proved  sanity  and  of  sound  judgment!  The  great  crisis  from 
which  we  have  just  emerged  has  fortunately  supplied  a  test  of  the 
reliability  of  our  political  prophets  in  their  reactions  to  President 
Wilson's  pronounced  pacifism  and  his  attempts  to  dictate  the  affairs 
of  the  world.  How  did  the  principal  advocates  of  the  Covenant  of  the 
League  of  Nations  react  to  the  unprovoked  assault  of  Germany  upon 
Civilization?  How  clearly  did  they  then  visualize  the  menace  that 
hung  over  America,  and  how  clearly  did  they  see  the  necessity  of  our 
joining  in  a  real  and  practical  alliance  of  freedom-loving  nations — not 
in  a  visionary  league  of  all  nations  good  and  bad  and  dominated  from 
Europe — to  prevent  the  downfall  of  Civilization?  How  willing  were 
they  then  to  send  armies  to  Europe  when  free  to  act  through  their 
own  representatives,  not  in  a  hypothetical  instance  when  ordered  to 
do  so  by  a  body  of  nine  ambassadors  from  alien  nations  in  which  they 
would  have  but  a  single  representative.  Below  is  the  record  for  ten 
of  the  advocates  of  the  Covenant  most  prominently  before  the  public, 
and  for  an  equal  number  of  those  opposed  to  it.  Grouped  with  some 
regard  to  their  positions  and  interests,  they  are  as  follows: 

For  tJie  Wilson  League  Against  the  Wilson  League 

Woodrow  Wilson  Theodore  Roosevelt 

Newton  D.  Baker  Leonard  Wood 

William  Jennings  Bryan  Elihu  Root 

Gilbert  M.  Hitchcock  Henry  Cabot  Lodge 

Josephus  Daniels  James  M.  Beck 

A.  Lawrence  Lowell  Hiram  W.  Johnson 

Henry  Ford  Henry  A.  Wise  Wood 

William  Howard  Taft  David  Jayne  Hill 

Jacob  H.  Schiff  Otto  H.  Kahn 

Stephen  S.  Wise  Lindley  M.  Garrison 

Almost  without  exception  the  names  in  the  first  list  are  those  of 
men  who  reacted  against,  or  at  best  but  mildly  for,  assuming  our  re- 
sponsibilities as  a  nation  in  the  period  between  August,  1914,  and 
April,  1917.  In  fact  it  would  be  strange  if  any  pacifist  were  not  also 
an  internationalist,  since  both  propose  to  place  their  reliance  for 
national  security  on  scraps  of  papers — what  Mr.  Wilson  has  called  the 
moral  judgment  of  mankind.  The  second  list  includes  the  prominent 
preparedness  men  of  the  recent  crisis,  and  as  a  rule  preparedness  men 
are  opposing  the  Wilson  League.     There  are,  however,  many  excep- 


—  5  — 

tlons,   the   most   notable   being   that  splendid   patriot,   George   Haven 
Putnam,  head  of  the  American  Rights  League. 

For  the  League 

WOODROW  WILSON,  President  of  the  United  States.     "He  kept 
us   out   of  war." — Campaign   slogan   which   won   Mr.   Wilson   his   re- 
election in  1916. 
REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"A  war  with  which  we  have  nothing  to  do,  whose  causes  cannot 
touch  us."    Delivered  to  joint  session  of  Congress  on  December  8,  1914. 

"With  its  causes  and  its  objects  we  are  not  concerned."  Speech 
of  May  27,  1916. 

"Have  you  ever  heard  what  started  the  present  war?  If  you  have 
I  wish  you  would  publish  it,  because  nobody  else  has,  so  far  as  I  can 
gather."    Speech  of  Oct.  27,  1916. 

"We  shall  not  alter  our  attitude  because  some  among  us  are 
nervous  and  excited.  *  *  *  The  country  has  been  misinformed.  We 
have  not  been  negligent  of  national  defense."  Mr.  Wilson  on  Dec.  8, 
1914. 

[More  than  a  year  later  General  Wood  declared:  "We  know  this, 
that  if  a  war  does  hit  us,  we  have  not  in  any  particular — I  make  no 
eception  whatever — adequate  reserve  materials  for  the  first  force  we 
should  have  to  call."] 

"There  are  actually  men  in  America  who  are  preaching  war,  who 
are  preaching  the  duty  of  the  United  States  to  do  what  it  never  would 
before — seek  entanglement  in  the  controversies  which  have  arisen  on 
the  other  side  of  the  water;  abandon  its  habitual  and  traditional 
policy  and  deliberately  engage  in  the  conflict  which  is  now  engulfing 
the  rest  of  the  world.  I  do  not  know  what  the  standard  of  citizenship 
of  these  gentlemen  may  be.  I  only  know  that  I,  for  one,  cannot  sub- 
scribe to  those  sentiments."  Mr.  Wilson's  speech  at  Des  Moines,  Feb. 
1,  191G. 
REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"It  [the  Covenant]  is  definite  as  a  guarantee  of  peace.  It  is  definite 
as  a  guarantee  against  aggression.  *  *  *  It  is  practical,  and  at  the  same 
time  it  is  designed  to  purify,  to  rectify,  to  elevate."  At  promulgation 
of  the  Treaty  at  Paris. 

"The  structure  of  peace  will  not  be  vital  without  the  League  of 
Nations,  and  no  man  is  going  to  bring  back  a  cadaver  with  him." 
Speech  on  March  5,  1919. 

"The  things  that  these  men  (soldier  dead)  left  us,  tliougli  tliey  did 
not  in  their  counsels  conceive  it,  Is  the  great  Instrument  which  we 
have  just  erected  in  the  League  of  Nations."  Memorial  Day  address 
at  Suresnes  Cemetery  near  Paris. 

"Put  up  or  shut  up,  you  contemptible  quitters."  Referring  In  an 
address  to  his  critics  in  the  United  States  Senate. 


Against  tlie  League 

THEODORE  EOOSEVELT,  Former  President  of  the  United  States, 
and  for  thirty-five  years  an  advocate  of  national  preparedness. 
"Plain  speech'  with  plain  folk, 
And  plain  words  for  false  things, 
Plain  faith  in  plain  dealings 
'Twixt  neighbours  and  kings 
He  used  and  he  followed 
However  it  sped — 
Oh,  our  world  is  none  more  honest 
Now  Great  Heart  is  dead." 

— Rudyard  Kipling  in  poem 

dedicated  to  Theodore  Roosevelt. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"Only  mischief  has  sprung  from  the  activities  of  the  professional 
peace  prattlers,  the  ultra-pacifists,  who  with  the  shrill  clamor  of 
eunochs  preach  the  gospel  of  the  milk  and  water  of  virtue  and  scream 
that  belief  in  the  efficacy  of  diluted  moral  mush  is  essential  to  sal- 
vation." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"The  Germans  seem  likely  to  try  to  make  peace  *  *  *  and  are  ap- 
parently seeking  to  cover  their  retention  of  some  of  their  ill-gotten 
substantial  gains  by  nominal  and  theoretical  support  of  some  glitter- 
ing proposal  about  a  League  of  Nations  to  end  all  war.  *  *  *  Therefore 
it  is  well  at  this  time  for  sober  and  resolute  men  and  women  to  apply 
that  excellent  variety  of  wisdom  colloquially  known  as  'horse-sense' 
to  the  problems  of  nationalism  and  internationalism.  These  problems 
will  not  be  solved  by  rhetoric.  Least  of  all  will  they  be  solved  by 
competitive  rhetoric.  Masters  of  phrasemaking  may  win  immense, 
though  evanescent,  applause  by  outvying  one  another  in  words  that 
glitter,  but  these  glittering  words  will  not  have  one  shred  of  lasting 
effect  on  the  outcome  except  in  so  far  as  they  may  have  a  very  mis- 
chievious  effect  if  they  persuade  good,  ignorant  people  to  abandon  the 
possible  real  good  in  the  fantastic  effort  to  achieve  an  impossible 
unreal  perfection.  Let  honest  men  and  women  remember  that  this 
kind  of  phrasemongering  does  not  represent  idealism.  *  *  *  Nations 
are  made,  defended  and  preserved,  not  by  the  illusionists,  but  by  the 
men  and  women  who  practice  the  homely  virtues  in  time  of  peace, 
and  who  in  time  of  righteous  war  are  ready  to  die,  or  to  send  those 
they  love  best  to  die,  for  a  shining  ideal."  From  "The  Great  Adven- 
ture" by  Theodore  Roosevelt,  published  in  November,  1918. 


For  the  Leagne 

>'EUTON  D.  BAKER,  Secretary  of  War  in  President  Wilson's 
Cabinet. 

"When  President  Wilson,  a  year  after  the  sinking  of  the  Lusitnnia, 
appointed  Mr.  Baker  Secretary  of  War,  he  absolutely  insured  all  the 
trouble  that  has  come  from  the  breakdowns  in  our  war  program." 
Theodore  Roosevelt  writing  in  November,  1918. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

After  obstructing  nearly  every  sensible  war  program  which  was 
recommended  by  military  experts.  Secretary  Baker,  after  we  had  been 
forced  to  enter  the  war,  expressed  publicly  his  "delight"  and  "pride" 
in  the  fact  that  "we  were  not  prepared." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"Unless  such  an  organization  [League  of  Nations]  is  formed  un- 
der some  name  and  under  some  constitution,  anarchy  bred  by  disease, 
hunger  and  despair  will  overwhelm  the  earth." 

Against  tlie  League 

LEONARD  WOOD,  Major  General,  U.  S.  A.  The  American  Lord 
Roberts,  the  father  and  the  genius  of  the  Plattsburg  Camps,  the  man 
who  trained  two  splendid  divisions,  was  wounded  in  France  on  inspec- 
tion work, 'but  was  barred  from  his  command  at  the  front  by  orders 
from  Mr.  Wilson's  Secretary  of  War. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"We  know  that  as  long  as  men  are  men  wars  will  always  occur." 
From  an  address  in  1912. 

"We  owe  it  to  ourselves  and  to  those  who  come  after  us  to  take 
heed,  not  to  the  idle  prating  of  dreamers,  but  to  the  stern  facts  that 
surround  us  and  which  lie  ahead  of  us.  What  we  want  must  not  in- 
fluence us  too  much;  we  must  take  into  consideration  conditions  which 
we  must  meet.  We  may  desire  world  peace,  *  *  *  and  we  may  pray 
devoutly  that  war  will  never  come  to  us,  but  we  should  not  forget  the 
teachings  of  history  or  neglect  the  observations  and  deductions  of 
common  sense." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

Speaking  to  Hospital  Unit  No.  36,  in  1919,  with  reference  to  the 
claim  that  any  covenant  will  protect  the  world  from  war,  General 
Wood  declared  this  to  be  "idle  twaddle  and  a  dream  of  mollycoddles. 
*  *  *  The  pacifists,  moreover,  tell  you  lies  when  they  say  that  war,  as 
an  institution,  is  dead.  Don't  listen  to  the  mollycoddles.  Be  a  citizen 
of  common  sense." 


For  the  League 

WILLIAM  JENNINGS  BRYAN,  Ex-Secretary  of  State  in  Mr.  Wil- 
son's Cabinet  and  the  world's  champion  platform  preacher  of  pacifism 
and  unpreparedness. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"We  cannot  possibly  take  part  in  this  war  without  contracting  an 
enormous  war  debt.  *  *  *  in  the  second  place  no  man  can  tell  how 
many  men  it  will  cost  us.  *  *  *  The  third  objection  is  that  we  would 
forfeit  an  opportunity  that  never  came  to  any  other  nation  before 
since  time  began."    Spoken  at  Lake  Mohonk  Conference  in  1916. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"The  League  of  Nations  is  the  greatest  step  towards  peace  in  a 
thousand  years.  The  idea  of  substituting  reason  for  force  in  the 
settlement  of  international  disputes  is  in  itself  an  epoch-making 
advance." 

Against  tlie  League 

ELIHU  ROOT,  Secretary  of  War  and  later  Secretary  of  State  in 
President  Roosevelt's  Cabinet,  Honorary  President  of  the  National 
Security  League,  and  one  of  America's  Foremost  Authorities  on  Inter- 
national Law. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR:  • 

"Ordinary  practical  sense  in  the  conduct  of  affairs  demanded  that 
such  steps  should  be  taken  that  behind  the  peaceable  assertion  of  our 
country's  rights,  its  independence  and  its  honor,  should  stand  power 
manifest  and  available,  warning  the  whole  world  that  it  would  cost 
too  much  to  press  aggression  too  far.  The  Democratic  Government  at 
Washington  did  not  see  it.  Others  saw  it  and  their  opinions  found 
voice." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"It  is  to  be  observed  that  neither  the  Executive  Council  nor  the 
body  of  delegates  to  whom  disputes  are  to  be  submitted  under  Article 
XV  of  the  agreement  [the  Covenant]  is  in  any  sense  whatever  a  judi- 
cial or  an  arbitral  body.  *  *  *  The  honorable  obligation  of  each  member 
is  a  political  obligation  as  the  representative  of  a  State.  *  *  * 

"The  scheme  practically  abandons  all  efforts  to  promote  or  main- 
tain anything  like  a  system  of  international  law,  or  a  system  of  arbi- 
tration or  of  judicial  settlement  through  which  a  nation  can  assert  its 
legal  rights  in  lieu  of  war.  *  *  *  It  puts  the  whole  subject  of  arbitra- 
tion back  where  it  was  25  years  ago.  Instead  of  perfecting  and  put- 
ting teeth  into  the  system  of  arbitration  provided  for  by  the  Hague 
conventions,  it  throws  those  conventions  upon  the  scrap  heap." 


For  the  League 

(JILBEKT  M.  IIITCIK'OCK,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Nebraska,  and 
Democratic  Leader  in  the  Senate  Fight  for  the  League  of  Nations. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

In  1914  Senator  Hitchcock  introduced  the  resolution  to  prevent 
war  loans  to  the  Allies,  and  also  the  German-inspired  bill  to  prevent 
the  shipment  of  arms  and  ammunition  to  the  Allies,  a  bill  which  if 
passed  would  probably  have  caused  the  downfall  of  Civilization. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"It  is  the  union  of  nations,  and  these  nations  intrust  the  real 
power  to  an  Executive  Council  of  nine  nations.  *  *  *  Most  of  the  power 
■of  the  League  is  permanently  intrusted  to  an  Executive  Council  *  *  *." 

Against  the  League 

HENRY  CABOT  LODGE,  U.  S.  Senator  from  Massachusetts  and 
Chairman  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee,  who  has  led  the  fight 
against  the  Covenant  in  that  body.  Roosevelt  has  testified  that  Sena- 
tor Lodge  was  for  years  his  strongest  ally  in  the  fight  for  prepared- 
ness legislation.  On  Dec.  8,  1914,  Senator  Lodge  introduced  in  the 
Senate  a  resolution  calling  for  investigation  into  the  military  prepar- 
edness of  the  country,  and  ten  days  later  he  introduced  a  bill  for  army 
increase  and  reserve. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"The  talk  about  peace  just  now  is  originated  by  German  agents 
for  the  purpose  of  affecting  public  opinion  here  and  elsewhere.  We 
must  dismiss  from  our  minds  any  idea  of  a  speedy  peace.  *  *  *  if 
Germany  conquers  France,  England  and  Russia,  she  will  dominate 
Europe  aad  will  subsequently  extend  that  domination,  if  she  can,  to 
the  rest  of  the  world."     Interview  Sept.  24,  1914. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"The  ranks  of  the  armies  and  the  fleets  of  the  navy  made  neces- 
sary by  such  pledges  [those  in  the  Covenant]  are  to  be  filled  and 
manned  by  the  sons,  husbands,  and  brothers  of  the  people  of  America. 
I  wish  them  carefully  to  consider,  whether  they  are  willing  to  have 
the  youth  of  America  ordered  to  war  by  other  nations  without  regard 
to  what  they  or  their  representatives  desire.  I  would  have  them  de- 
termine after  much  reflection  whether  they  are  willing  to  have  the 
United  States  forced  into  war  by  other  nations  against  her  own  will. 
They  must  bear  in  mind  that  we  have  only  one  vote  in  the  Executive 
Council,  only  one  vote  in  the  body  of  delegates,  and  a  majority  of  the 
votes  rules  and  is  decisive." 


—  10  — 

For  the  League 

JOSEPHUS  DANIELS,  Secretary  of  the  Navy  in  Mr.  Wilson's. 
Cabinet.  "Mr.  Daniels  was  the  one  man  who  more  than  any  other  had 
stood  in  the  way  of  the  preparation  of  the  American  navy  for  war." 
Henry  Breckenridge,  ex-assistant  secretary  of  war  in  Mr.  Wilson's 
cabinet. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"We  should  go  on  just  as  though  there  were  no  war."  Secretary 
Daniels  before  the  Congressional  Committee  in  considering  the  ques- 
tion of  preparedness. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"When  the  representatives  of  the  fourteen  nations  sitting  in  Paris, 
embracing  the  most  powerful  victorious  countries  and  representing 
twelve  hundred  million  people  agreed  upon  the  Covenant  of  Peace,  it 
was  an  event  in  the  world's  history  second  only  to  the  declaration  of 
the  shepherds'  of  Bethlehem:  'We  have  seen  His  star  in  the  East  and 
have  come  to  worship  Him.'  Practical  statesmen  from  Paris  to  Tokio, 
with  differing  traditions  and  speech  all  spoke  and  understood  the 
same  language  for  the  first  time  since  the  days  of  Pentecost  at 
Jerusalem." 

On  March  15,  1919,  referring  to  the  opposition  to  the  League  of 
Nations,  Mr.  Daniels  made  public  this  forecast: 

"They  [the  opposition]  have  presented  us  with  the  Presidency  and 
Congress  two  years  from  today." 

Against  the  League 

JAMES  M.  BECK,  Ex-Assistant  Attorney  General  of  the  United 
States,  eminent  jurist,  and  one  of  the  foremost  advocates  of  prepared- 
ness. His  "Evidence  in  the  Case"  and  "The  War  for  Humanity"  passed 
through  many  editions  and  probably  did  more  than  any  other  books  to 
mould  public  opinion  in  preparation  for  American  responsibilities  in 
the  war. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"Possibly  half  of  the  tragedies  of  history  are  due  to  military  un- 
preparedness  and  in  no  way  has  the  solemn  warning  of  Solomon  been 
more  strikingly  illustrated:-  'Where  there  is  no  vision  the  people 
perish.'  " 

"The  noblest  spirit  of  America  has  been  dulled  by  too  many  diplo- 
matic platitudes  during  the  last  two  years,  and  the  rising  spirit  of  in- 
dignation among  true  Americans  will  sooner  or  later  demand  a  fear- 
less appreciation  of  what  has  happened,  and  a  resolute  purpose  to 
vindicate  its  honor." 


—  11  — 

"A  'peace  without  victory'  would  crucify  the  cause  of  international 
justice  afresh  and  put  it  to  an  open  shame." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"Upon  the  broadest  grounds  of  patriotism  and  because  the  Cove- 
nant would  permanently  affect  the  destinies  of  the  American  people, 
the  Republican  Senators  preferred  to  risk  a  party  schism  to  defeat  the 
project  which  in  entire  good  faith  they  regarded  as  a  menace  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  United  States,  and  indeed,  to  the  world,  which 
could  only  be  injured  by  following  this  will-of-the-wisp  into  the 
morass  of  disaster  in  which  Civilization  now  finds  itself." 

"They  tell  you  there  is  a  profound  agitation  for  the  League  of 
Nations  [in  Great  Britain  from  which  Mr.  Beck  had  just  returned].  It 
tell  you  it  is  not  so.  There  may  be  some  such  thing  among  the  ad- 
vanced socialists." 

For  tlie  League 

A.  LAWRENCE  LOWELL,  President  of  Harvard  University,  mem- 
ber of  the  Council  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace,  and  one  of  their 
principal  speakers  on  tour,  a  foremost  authority  in  matters  of  govern- 
ment. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

President  Lowell  did  not  identify  himself  in  any  notable  way  with 
the  preparedness  movement,  but  was  identified  with  various  peace 
assemblies.  On  June  17,  1915,  he  spoke  at  a  peace  convention  but  on 
June  25th  following  said  in  graduation  address  at  Harvard  University: 

"Can  we  sit  still  and  count  our  pence  and  watch  ball-games  and 
not  turn  our  attention  to  the  other  side?  Ought  we  not  to  feel  that 
it  imposes  burdens  on  us?" 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"If  the  house  is  on  fire  and  we  have  the  alternative  of  throwing 
the  baby  out  of  the  window  or  letting  it  burn,  we  do  not  ask  the  cost 
of  the  fire  escape.  *  *  *  if  there  had  been  no  dangers  to  be  met,  there 
would  have  been  no  necessity  for  the  Constitution  and  there  would 
have  been  no  Constitution.     Thus  it  is  with  the  League  of  Nations." 

Against  the  League 

HIRAM  W.  JOHNSOX,  U.  S.  Senator  from  California.  One  of  the 
most  bitter  opponents  of  the  League  included  among  the  so-called 
"Irreconcilables." 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"Democracy,  to  survive,  must  ever  be  ready  to  protect  its  own. 
Every  normally  constituted  man  abhors  war.  *  *  *  But  a  nation  such 


—  12  — 

as  ours,  dependent  for  its  prosperity  upon  the  character  of  its  citizen- 
ship, that  dare  not  maintain  its  ideals,  and  will  not  protect  the  lives 
of  its  citizens,  sows  within  itself  the  seeds  of  dissolution." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"And  long  before  we  saw  a  line  of  this  secret  document  a  tre- 
mendous propaganda,  financed  with  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars, 
obtained  from  clubs  and  organizations  enthusiastic  endorsements.  Our 
people  were  taught  to  chant  'promote  peace  and  prevent  war.'  The 
formula  'promote  peace  and  prevent  war'  swept  over  all  the  land,  and 
its  necessary  corollary,  before  there  was  any  league  of  nations  at  all, 
was  the  endorsement  of  the  fantastic  thing  which  feared  the  light  in 
its  creation  and  has  denied  to  those  most  affected  by  it  the  slightest 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances,  events,  and  details  of  its  composition. 
I  received,  just  as  other  Senators  did,  innumerable  resolutions  before 
any  of  us  had  the  slightest  conception  of  what  the  league  of  nations 
was,  and  the  resolutions,  in  like  tenor,  have  continued  from  that  time 
to  the  present.  Before  publication  of  it  the  various  trainloads  of  dis- 
tinguished gentlemen  were  going  about  the  country  holding  meetings 
and  conventions  in  different  localities  advocating  an  undisclosed  docu- 
ment dealing  with  the  future  of  the  Republic." 

For  the  League 

HENRY  FORD,  multimillionaire  automobile  manufacturer  and 
ultrapaciflst.  He  sent  out  the  Oscar  H  loaded  down  with  pacifists  to 
secure  a  peace  without  victory  in  1914,  spent  large  sums  to  secure  the 
re-election  of  President  Wilson  and  was  "commanded"  to  become  can- 
didate for  United  States  Senator  from  Michigan. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"I  am  against  preparedness  of  any  kind,  for  preparedness  is  surely 
war."     Interview  of  Jan.  3,  1916. 

"I  do  not  believe  in  the  flag.  It  is  something  to  rally  around.  *  *  * 
Patriotism  is  always  the  last  resort  of  the  scoundrel."  Interview  with 
Mr.  Wise  Wood,  May  16,  1916. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 
Testifying  on  the  stand  July  15,  1919: 
A.     "I  am  strong  for  preparedness." 
Q.     "But  in  1915  you  were  not?" 
A.     "I  was  not." 
Q.     "Why  are  you  for  it  now?" 

A.     "I  am  for  it  unless  we  get  a  league  of  nations." 
Q.     "You  are  for  a  great  war  now?" 
A.     "I  want  the  United  States  to  clean  it  all  up." 


—  13  — 

Against  the  League 

HENRY  A.  WISE  WOOD,  inventor  and  manufacturer,  ex-member 
of  Naval  Consulting  Board,  pioneer  of  preparedness  and  founder  of  the 
League  for  the  Preservation  of  American  Independence. 

REACTION  TO.  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"I  am  no  alarmist.  I  do  not  call  for,  nor  do  I  believe  in,  an 
hysterical  rush  to  arms.  But  in  this  hour  of  confused  counsel,  I  do 
firmly  believe  that  by  way  of  preparation  our  people  should  be  taught 
the  truth.  *  *  *  We  are  a  practical  people,  and  we  are  fast  learning 
that  this  is  a  grimly  practical  age.  *  *  *  Therefore,  as  practical  men, 
let  us  reconsider  our  situation.  *  *  *  Shall  we  not  deal  with  the  times 
after  the  fashion  of  the  times  and  with  dignity  and  thoroughness,  but 
without  hurry  or  rest,  equip  ourselves  so  effectually  that  of  all  our 
fears  the  least  shall  be  of  unpreparedness."    Speech  of  Januarj',  1915. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"History  is  full  of  the  wrecks  of  such  projects.  *  *  *  Idealism,  in- 
deed, has  exacted  and  the  world  has  paid  a  heavy  price  for  the  sins  of 
its  leaders,  who  entrusted  to  paper  instead  of  to  arms  the  safety  of 
their  peoples.  It  is  all  very  well  to  dream  Utopian  dreams,  but  it  is 
unsafe  to  act  upon  Utopian  principles  until  we  know  that  we  are  in 
Utopia.  This  truth  the  idealist  has  never  learned.  *  *  *  We  scrap  our 
traditions,  strike  our  national  tent,  and  rush  blindly  into  the  untried 
wilderness  of  internationalism,  where  those  who  have  never  seen  it 
say  there  lies  a  warless  Utopian  world." 

For  the  League 

WILLIAM  HOWARD  TAFT,  ex-president  of  the  United  States, 
founder  and  president  of  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  AvAR: 

During  the  early  years  of  the  war  Mr.  Taft's  attention  was  largely 
taken  up  with  peace  meetings,  though  he  became  a  tardy  and  mild 
advocate  of  preparedness.  He  publicly  praised  the  neutrality  attitude 
of  President  Wilson,  spoke  against  our  entry  into  the  war  after  the 
sinking  of  the  Lusitania,  and  praised  the  Wilson  notes  which  develop- 
ed from  that  incident.  January  3,  1916,  he  put  himself  on  record  for 
"reasonable"  preparedness. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"If  the  President  insists,  as  I  hope  he  will,  that  the  League  be 
incorporated  in  the  Peace  Treaty  and  brings  it  back,  then  the  re- 
sponsibility for  postponing  peace  is  with  the  body  that  refuses  to 
ratify  it. 


—  14  — 

"It  will  be  the  duty  of  the  President  and  his  fellow  delegates  to 
the  Conference  to  insert  such  a  covenant  in  the  treaty  as  indispensable 
to  the  peace  sought.  If  in  accordance  with  the  sense  of  duty,  there- 
fore, such  a  covenant  embodying  the  substantial  features  of  the  pro- 
posed one  shall  be  incorporated  in  a  treaty  of  peace,  signed  by  the 
representatives  of  the  powers  and  brought  back  by  the  President  and 
submitted  by  him  to  the  Senate,  the  question  which  will  address  itself 
to  the  proponents  of  this  Senate  resolution  [the  famous  'round  robin'] 
will  be  not  whether  they  would  prefer  to  consider  a  League  of  Nations 
after  the  Treaty  of  Peace,  but  whether  they  will  feel  justified  in  de- 
feating or  postponing  a  treaty  because  it  contains  a  constitution  of  a 
League  of  Nations  deemed  by  the  President  necessary  to  the  peace 
which  all  seek."  At  Metropolitan  Opera  House,  New  York,  March  4, 
1919.  [New  York  Times  reports  that  Mr.  Wilson  "smiled  broadly"  as 
Mr.  Taft  presented  the  above  proposal.] 

Against  the  League 

DATID  JATNE  HILL,  ex-United  States  Ambassador  to  Germany, 
president  throughout  the  war  of  the  National  Defense  Society,  and  of 
the  National  Association  for  Constitutional  Government,  and  an  au- 
thority on  international  law. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"Unless  we  conscript  ourselves  for  the  battle  and  lay  our  wealth 
and  our  lives  at  the  altar  of  the  defense  of  our  institutions,  we  will 
find  our  descendants  in  the  vortex  of  world  dominating  schemes  of 
autocracy." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"The  destinies  of  mankind  cannot  safely  be  entrusted  to  the  action 
of  a  secret  conclave,  nor  can  the  future  of  America  be  bound  up  with 
the  ukase  of  a  single  negotiator  separated  from  contact  with  the 
American  people." 

"The  contention  that  this  Covenant  creates  an  imperium  does  not 
rest  alone  on  its  attitude  towards  states  outside  the  League.  Under 
Article  XXII  the  Council  undertakes  to  govern,  through  its  appointed 
agents,  vast  areas  and  numerous  populations.  It  may  govern  well,  or 
it  may  govern  ill,  but  it  assumes  the  right  to  govern.  *  *  *  Imperialism 
is  imperialism,  whether  it  be  joint  or  single;  and  it  is  not  a  business 
that  tends  toward  democracy  or  towards  justice.  Even  in  its  purity 
and  at  its  best  estate  it  is  a  dangerous  enterprise  for  a  free  people  to 
engage  in,  and  it  is  more  dangerous  than  ever  when  innocence  and 
good  intention  become  the  partners  of  seasoned  experience  in  the 
game  for  power." 


—  15  — 

For  the  Xeague 

JACOB    H.    SCHIFF,   German-American   banker   and    one   of   the 

heads  of  the  banking  firm  of  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.  According  to  Harvey's 
Weekly  Mr.  Schiff  has  dispensed  the  vast  sums  for  the  propaganda  of 
the  League  to  Enforce  Peace. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"For  many  reasons  my  personal  sympathies  are  with  Germany. 
I  cannot  feel  convinced  that  she  has  been  the  real  aggressor;  I  believe 
that  war  was  forced  upon  her,  almost  as  if  by  prearrangement  among 
the  nations  with  whom  she  now  contends.  *  *  *  Although  I  left  Germany 
half  a  century  ago,  I  could  think  as  little  of  arraying  myself  against 
her,  the  country  of  my  birth,  in  this  the  moment  of  her  struggle  for 
existence,  as  of  arraying  myself  against  my  parents."  Communication 
to  the  New  York  Times,  November  22,  1914. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"I  bless  the  day  when  President  Wilson  set  out  for  European 
shores  to  make  sure  that  we  should  not  be  cheated — and  I  use  this 
word  because  I  cannot  think  of  a  better  word  now — out  of  the  sacri- 
fices we  made  abroad  in  our  endeavors  to  maintain  our  high  ideals. 
We  are  going  to  succeed,  thanks  to  Woodrow  Wilson,  in  spite  of  those 
who  tried  to  put  him  down." 

Against  the  Leagne 

OTTO  H.  KAHX,  German-American  banker  and  one  of  the  heads 
of  the  banking  firm  of  Kuhn,  Loeb  &  Co.,  who  throughout  the  war  was 
insistent  in  arousing  his  compatriots  of  German  birth  to  their  full 
duties  as  citizens. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"A  century  and  a  half  ago  Americans  of  English  birth  rose  to  free 
this  country  from  the  oppression  of  the  rulers  of  England.  Today 
Americans  of  German  birth  are  called  upon  to  rise,  together  with  their 
fellow  citizens  of  all  races,  to  free  not  only  this  country  but  the  whole 
world  from  the  oppression  of  the  rulers  of  Germany,  an  oppression  far 
less  capable  of  being  endured  and  of  far  greater  portent." 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"Nothing  that  we  fought  for  makes  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  re- 
linquish our  fundamental  national  policies  and  traditions,  and  to 
transform  the  American  eagle  into  an  international  nondescript." 

"Nothing  that  we  fought  for  makes  it  incumbent  upon  us  to  act 
henceforth  as  policemen  for  Europe  and  Asia." 

"I  have  been  at  pains  to  read  through  the  Peace  Treaty,  including 
the  Covenant,  from  beginning  to  end.  I  laid  it  away  sore  at  heart  and 
sickened." 


—  16  — 

Against  the  Leagrne 

STEPHEN  S.  WISE,  Jewish  Rabbi  of  the  Free  Synagogue  and  one 
of  the  principle  speakers  for  the  Covenant  on  the  special  tours  organ- 
ized by  the  League  to  Enforce  Peace. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"I  blame  secret  diplomacy  for  the  present  war."    Nov.  22,  1914. 

"We  thank  Thee,  O  God,  for  the  firmness  and  sagacity  of  our 
President  and  his  advisers,  which  cooled  our  own  lust  for  war.  We 
beseech  Thee  to  save  our  nation  from  being  sucked  into  the  present 
flood  of  passion.  May  our  land  remain  an  island  of  peace  in  this  red 
sea  of  trouble.  Grant  our  people  a  sober  and  neutral  mind,  etc."  A 
prayer  prepared  by  the  pro-German,  Walter  Rauschenbusch,  and  de- 
livered in  the  Free  Synagogue  by  Rabbi  Wise  on  Peace  Sunday,  Oct. 
5,  1914. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  AT  THE  WAR'S  CLOSE: 

"Anyone  who  deliberately  undermines  the  work  of  President  Wil- 
son in  his  endeavor  to  bring  about  the  League  is  guilty  of  moral 
treason  and  will  be  dealt  with  by  the  American  people  in  due  time. 
*  *  *  If  no  League  comes  with  peate,  America  will  have  to  become  the 
most  powerful  military  and  naval  nation  in  the  world." 

Against  tlie  Leagne 

LINDLEY  M.  GAERISON,  ex-secretary  of  war  in  Mr.  Wilson's 
Cabinet. 

REACTION  TO  PACIFISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

Mr.  Garrison  was  a  believer  in  preparedness,  but  for  obvious 
reasons  was  debarred  from  expressing  such  views  while  a  member  of 
the  Cabinet.  He  left  the  Cabinet  because  he  could  not  support  the 
sham  Army  Bill  supported  by  President  Wilson  in  defiance  of  the 
advice  of  the  experts.  Upon  his  resignation  he  was  replaced  by  the 
pacifist,  Baker. 

REACTION  TO  INTERNATIONALISM  DURING  THE  WAR: 

"I  have  not  heard  one  responsible  voice  lifted  to  say  that  the 
League  of  Nations  is  needed  for  any  American  purpose.  No  one  has 
said  that  this  nation,  born  in  independence,  and  desiring  nothing  of 
its  neighbors,  needs  to  be  directed  by  a  council  of  nine  or  by  a  council 
of  forty-nine  because  of  failure  on  our  part  to  live  up  to  the  principles 
upon  which  we  are  consecrated  as  a  nation. 

"We  are  asked  to  give  up,  on  the  other  hand,  a  policy  which  has 
been  inherent  in  American  national  life  since  Washington's  time,  and 
later  reaffirmed  by  the  Monroe  Doctrine,  although  throughout  history 
we  have  felt  free  to  direct  our  own  foreign  policies  by  our  own  sense 
of  duty." 


14  DAY  USE 

RETURN  TO  DESK  FROM  WHICH  BORROWED 

LOAN  DEPT. 

This  book  is  due  on  the  last  date  stamped  below,  or 

on  the  date  to  which  renewed. 

Renewed  books  are  subject  to  immediate  recall. 


!4Mci 


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MftY25J956i59 


ll<V2t  •6612860 


1996 


LD  21A-50m-ll,'62 
(D3279sl0)476B 


General  Library 

University  of  California 

Berkeley 


U,C   BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


CD3T3Mbt.Db 


ii 


